The Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 and the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514 (below) are two newer models powered by the ultra-efficient MediaTek Kompanio Ultra 910 chip. Both of them are amazing machines that will convert any remaining Chromebook skeptics among us, provided you can afford them. They’re pricey and overkill for most people needing a simple, web-based laptop, so I’ve reserved them for splurgers. (Definitely look for them on sale.)
I recommend Lenovo’s model for those who prefer a traditional clamshell form factor, appreciate a fanless design, and want a vivid OLED display for watching movies and TV shows.
While $749 is ridiculously expensive for a Chromebook, the Lenovo Chromebook Plus 14 brings a ton to the table — a striking 2K OLED touchscreen, for one thing. “The colors on it look just as vibrant and punchy as I could’ve hoped,” said Chaney, our reviewer. Bummer that it has a 60Hz refresh rate instead of a 120Hz refresh rate like the Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514, but this probably won’t be a dealbreaker unless you’re using it for cloud gaming. (And if that’s your primary case, I have a better recommendation for you later on in this guide.) Simply put, it’s beauteous.
The Chromebook Plus 14 got a multi-core score of 7,680 in our Geekbench 6 performance test, making it the fastest Chromebook we’ve ever tested (by an exceptionally small margin, but still). That’s extra-impressive when you factor in its fanless design. It doesn’t make any noise when it’s running, “and it only gets a little warm during long periods of use, even when charging,” said Chaney. This keeps the machine very light to boot: At 2.78 pounds, it’s less than a 10th of a pound heavier than the latest 13-inch Apple MacBook Air. I’d call it the MacBook Air of Chromebooks, except Apple laptops don’t have OLED displays. Not yet, anyway.
In our battery life benchmark, the Chromebook Plus 14 held out for 15 hours and 45 minutes before dying — an impressive result for a laptop with a bright, power-guzzling OLED display. That makes it the second-longest-lasting Chromebook we’ve tested after the overachieving Acer Chromebook Plus Spin 514, which lasted nearly three hours longer.
I also want to point out that the Chromebook Plus 14 is quite future-proofed. Along with that fresh processor, it comes with a generous 16GB of RAM, a sharp 5MP webcam, and support for WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 (the latest wireless connectivity technologies). It also has a backlit keyboard with a fingerprint reader, two premium fixings. It’s expensive, yes, but it does its best to justify that price tag. If you can make the investment or find it on sale, it’ll make a fantastic daily driver for years to come.
Our $749 review unit is available at both Best Buy and Lenovo. The latter sells an additional configuration with half the storage, 12GB of RAM, and no fingerprint reader or touchscreen for $100 less, and while we haven’t tried it, it feels like the smarter buy. The only catch: It was sold out at the time of writing.
Lastly, I should add that the Chromebook Plus 14 comes with two exclusive AI features: a tab-sorting tool called “smart grouping” and an AI image editor in the Gallery app. (The Chromebook Plus Spin 514 has these, too.) I wouldn’t buy it solely for those features, but we did find smart grouping useful in testing. The image editor’s results were very crude and fake-looking.
